Nothing against Strikeforce, but Lorenz Larkin has been there, done that.

For his first fight in the UFC, the former Strikeforce standout requested he get anyone but a fellow alum of the now-defunct promotion. Larkin migrated to the UFC after Strikeforce closed its doors following one final event on Jan. 12.

And now that he’s in the world’s biggest promotion, he wants to see where he stands against some of the best the UFC has to offer – not the best his former Strikeforce mates have to offer.

He got his wish. Larkin (13-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) fights Francis Carmont (20-7 MMA, 4-0 UFC) at UFC on FOX 7, which takes place April 20 at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif. The middleweight bout likely will be part of the FX-televised prelims prior to a main card on FOX.

“At the end of the day, I don’t want to fight a Strikeforce guy,” Larkin told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). “In my head, it doesn’t do anything for me. That’s who they came back with, and I’m happy. I’m always down with testing myself.”

Larkin had some good tests in Strikeforce, too. His lone loss in the promotion came to former champ Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal, but it was overturned to a no contest when Lawal tested positive for steroids.

But Larkin gave himself a new challenge after that fight by dropping from light heavyweight to middleweight. And against Robbie Lawler this past July, he made a big statement and picked up a dominant unanimous decision victory.

“It was just one of those tests,” Larkin said. “It’s the type of situation I like to put myself in. I rise to a better occasion when the chips are down. When I test myself, I give a better performance. When I was growing up, I was watching him in the UFC. To finally have a chance to fight him, it was crazy. I was just tuned in for that fight. After I got wobbled, everything started clicking.”

Larkin will hope to be clicking again when he faces Carmont, whom he called “one of the top prospects right now in the UFC.” Carmont is unbeaten in the promotion, and a win for Larkin would be a definite statement that the Strikeforce fighters who have moved over to the UFC are not there to mess around or be taken lightly.

The California-based fighter said he won’t have a chip on his shoulder. But he definitely hopes fans start to realize fighters from Strikeforce were legit.

“I don’t think it’s so much a chip, but for the part-time MMA fans and all the things they say about Strikeforce is a feeder league, it shows Strikeforce did have a good talent pool and we can compete with guys from the UFC,” he said.

Now that he’s arrived, he knows the stakes are high. Like everyone he wants to compete for a title. It starts, he believes, against Carmont in San Jose.

And even though he looks back with fondness at Strikeforce and wasn’t one of the outspoken fighters openly pining to expedite their moves to the UFC even before the promotion closed up shop, Larkin wants to make the most of the opportunity now that he’s there.

“Everyone wants to be in the UFC,” he said. “But I was happy where I was at. I had nothing against the UFC, but at that time, I didn’t mind my situation. It sucks to see (Strikeforce) leave, but it’s a new chapter and every fighter’s dream is, ‘I want the belt’ and ‘I want to fight in the UFC.’ The UFC is the mecca. You can’t get higher than that.”

MMAjunkie.com Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) live from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show is hosted by “Gorgeous” George Garcia, MMAjunkie.com lead staff reporter John Morgan and producer Brian “Goze” Garcia. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.

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